BP in $7.2 Billion Deal with India’s Reliance

In its second large deal since the start of the year, U.K. oil firm BP PLC said that it will spend $7.2 billion to buy a 30 percent stake in oil and gas blocks controlled by Reliance Industries in India, according to MarketWatch. BP’s investment is the largest India has ever witnessed in the energy sector. It comes hot on the heels of the British firm’s $7.8 billion agreement with Russian state-controlled oil company Rosneft to drill in the Arctic, and it sends a strong signal that BP is back on the offensive after a treacherous 2010 due to its role in the Gulf of Mexico oil spill. BP and Reliance Industries, India’s largest private company, said the deal covers 23 oil and gas production-sharing contracts as well as the formation of a joint venture for the sourcing and marketing of gas in India. The whole agreement is potentially worth up to $20 billion, the companies said. India is one of the fastest-growing economies in the world. In recent years, the country, which exports most of its oil, has stepped up its commitment to natural-gas development.